Okay, so I'm really discussing Richardson, TX, and not Peoria (which we all know is just an old Groucho Marx line, right?). Because Richardson is the home of one of my favorite websites: Woot.com. In case you're unfamiliar with Woot, technically it is just another website selling over-stocked products at a discount, but Woot is unlike any other vending site because of 2 idiosyncrasies. And it is because of these that their site stands apart, and makes them highly entertaining as well.
First, they sell one and only one product a day. It might be a computer accessory, or a computer itself. It could be an MP3 player, or headphones for your MP3 player. Perhaps a refurbished vacuum cleaner, or some crazy gadget that you've never seen before. You just never know from one day to the next. And they sell that one product from midnight until midnight the next day, or until they run out.
The second "quirk" (and the real reason I view their site each day) is their product descriptions. These descriptions are not the typical ones you find on most sales sites, with paragraphs and tables listing all the statistical details of said product, but rather are written in some known style or setting. It could be a literary genre, like a Shakespearian play, or film genre, like film noir. Or it could imitate some scene from a famous movie, or an historic event. And all the while the important details about the product are worked into the text. It is clever, and original, and witty. If you want some fun reading and have time to kill, you can click on "the blog" link on their site to read some of their previous material.
Anyway, the product description for today's product (a Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Stick, for the record) was written as a speech: a speech of an unknown political candidate trying to introduce "herself" to the world. I think we can all figure out who they are parodying. Here are some excerpts:
If you’re not a member of the media’s inside-the-Best-Buy clique, they will relentlessly smear you with vicious attacks like "What features do you offer?" and "Why should people buy you?" They truly have no shame.
Just as sure as I once strangled a polar bear with my bare hands on the way to my daughter’s clarinet recital, I stood up to the forces of weak HDTV reception with my integrated signal booster.
[T]he ruthless TV haters and slime merchants persist in assaulting me with vicious questions like "Is it true that sometimes your HDTV reception might be weak depending on how far away the transmitter is?" To these baseless accusations, I respond, "Say what you want about me, but how dare you attack my innocent children?"
And my built-in slide cap, God love it, protects my USB connector the way I protect my famous recipe for walrus casserole.
I got involved in public life because I feel the Creator has a plan for me, and for you. And that plan is for you to buy as many Pinnacle PCTV HD Mini Sticks as you physically can. I’m blessed that God’s plan happens to be the one that makes me lots of money. But you’ll get easy HDTV viewing on your computer, so stop whining and pay up like God told you to.
So, what does this mean? Well, I know nothing about the proprietors of this site or their political opinions. I'm betting that they're basically apolitical - I can't recall reading anything political on their site before. And even if they were blue-blooded-as-can-be Democrats, I can't believe that they would intentionally publish something that they thought might be a blatant attack on a political candidate on a "sales" web site. You never want to chase off potential customers - it's not good business. I don't believe that they would have written what they did today if they didn't feel like every topic they mentioned was accepted by the public at large. Also, they are located just outside of Dallas, an area that generally runs pretty conservative.
So, what if anything does this tell us? I think it gives us a peek into the thoughts of people who don't have the time or inclination to follow politics closely, people who don't follow politics 24/7, people who spend lots of time on the internet, but NOT on political sites or blogs (yes, such people really do exist). Here's what I believe it tell us about their thoughts:
- They think Palin exaggerates, especially her rugged Alaska folksy image.
- They think Palin criticizes the media for being unfair when they in fact are not.
- They think Palin avoids answering tough questions.
- They think Palin uses her family as a shield and as a diversion to avoid unpleasant questions.
- They think Palin has used her position and its power to benefit herself, financially or otherwise.
- They think Palin uses her religious beliefs as a political tool.
- In short, they think Palin will say whatever she thinks she needs to say in order to get what she wants.
And apparently they think that this is all common knowledge; it doesn't make good satire when you have to educate the reader about the thing you are indeed satirizing.
Unfortunately, the American public struggles in dealing with information when presented - or rather overwhelmed - with a wide variety of it all at once. We have difficulty making disparate facts reconcile, or more to the point, the more we like someone the more we are willing to ignore their unpleasantries. And this is what I believe is happening right now with Palin, that there are lots of people who are denying the reality of what they know to be true about her with the likable personality that they see. But more often than not, we do reach the correct conclusion - it just takes time.
And I believe that eventually a majority of the American public will reconcile Palin's actual record with the campaign spin and realize that Palin is not what the McCain campaign (and unfortunately the media) are presenting her to be: not at all a maverick, but just another politician. And that is how Palin is playing in Peoria. And Richardson too.